Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has suffered another delay as NASA says the couple stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) will have to wait “much longer” to return home. Will have to.
The duo took off for an eight-day mission in June but have been floating in orbit since then as their Boeing-built Starliner spacecraft was grounded in February next year after experiencing technical problems. was extended to The BBC.
Wilmore and Williams won’t return until late March or possibly April because of delays in launching a new capsule to the ISS.
According to NASA, a new crew needs to be started before the pair can return and the next mission has been delayed by more than a month.
A four-person crew for the ISS was to be launched by NASA by February 2025 and the mission capsule was to bring home Wilmore and Williams, as well as astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, for regular crew rotations.
The delay comes as SpaceX prepares a brand new Dragon capsule for the mission, which is now slated to be ready for flight before the end of March.
The space agency said it considered a different SpaceX capsule for the mission to keep the flights on schedule, but decided to wait for the new spacecraft to be built.
NASA also assured that the delay posed no danger to the astronauts.
“The International Space Station recently received two flights in November and is well-stocked with everything the crew needs, including food, water, clothing and oxygen. The resupply spacecraft is in orbit. The platform also had special items for the crew to celebrate the holidays,” NASA said.